Lafayette girls score final three goals of OT win

If the Jamestown girls soccer team's play in the first half sent a message, then Lafayette's second half was the emphatic answer.

After the Eagles put a dominant stamp on the opening 60 minutes with two goals, the Rams responded with two in regulation's latter stages.

The first overtime period proved to be a microcosm of regulation, as Lafayette fended off a persistent Jamestown attack long enough to pounce.

Receiving a feed from Katherine Higgins that perfectly split two defenders, the Rams' Allyn Potts sent the decisive goal past keeper Jessica Thompson to propel Lafayette to a 3-2 victory in a battle of unbeaten teams at James City County Stadium on Tuesday.

The win gave Lafayette (9-0-1, 5-0-1) the inside track to wrapping up its fifth consecutive regular-season Bay Rivers District title.

"In my 41/2 years at Lafayette, this is certainly the biggest victory," Rams coach Shaheem Abrahams said. "To be down 2-0 to an unbeaten team and to come back like that, it's huge."

A bold statement, indeed, but it was certainly not a stretch by any means. Before Abrahams could collect his thoughts after the opening whistle, Jamestown's Erika Tarley blasted a top-shelf 15-yarder past keeper Lauren Griswold to stake the Eagles to a 1-0 lead.

The score put an immediate damper on Lafayette's energy level. The Rams appeared listless at times against a charged Eagles squad (6-1, 5-1) that handily controlled the possession battle.

Jamestown's dominant first half received its exclamation point when Jessica Napoleon sent a lengthy bender over Griswold in the 38th minute.

"At the half, I really had to give the girls some stirring words," Abrahams said. "I just let them know that they had the heart to come back, that they were the four-time defending champions. I challenged my captains (seniors Melanie Marotta, Leigh Hill and Hannah Lee) to put the game on their backs."

The halftime adjustment came 20 minutes into the second, when Jamestown's pressure relented, prompting Lafayette to capitalize with possessions deep in Eagles territory.

Lafayette began its comeback with a Sara Abrahams goal on a corner-kick assist from Potts in the 65th minute.

"That really turned it around for them," Jamestown coach Kevin Dawson said. "That gave them some energy, and by then, running against the wind (while on offense) was become a factor for us."

Potts added the first of her two goals in the 73rd minute on a cross from Abrahams to knot the score at 2 and send the game into overtime.

"We could have just kept our heads down and cried," Marotta said of the 2-0 deficit. "But we decided that we would go out there and win every 50-50 ball instead of sitting back and getting our butts kicked."

Riding high on the second wind, all Lafayette had to do was stave off Jamestown long enough for Potts to strike again.

"I was hoping Katherine's pass would be there, and there it was for me," Potts said. "It was a perfect assist. … I'm proud of my team; this is a great feeling."